Interview

The Polar Vortex Portfolio: Investing With Weather in Mind

Snow and wind and rain and heat and cold have measurable impacts—and can point to opportunities.

We're all weather-weary. Barely a week has passed this year without a major storm straining city budgets, testing the sanity of commuters, and generally wreaking havoc on our daily routines. Few people want to hear another dire warning from another weatherman.

But Paul Walsh is one meteorologist investors should pay attention to. His forecasts are not of the five-day variety: Over the past 17 years, Walsh, vice president of weather analytics at The Weather Company, has helped retailers like Wal-Mart, analysts at Merrill...